Heteronormative roles in dancing impose that a couple should be formed by a man who leads and a woman who follows.
However, there can be many reasons why you could want to dance Tango outside heteronormativity: maybe you are LGBT and you want to dance with whoever pleases you, or you’re non-binary and the binary role codes are by definition in conflict with who you are, or you’re simply a woman who likes to lead or a man who likes to follow (regardless of cis/trans, straigth or not).
In open-role tango, the participants are maybe seeking to practice any role regardless of the imposed gender conventions, to experience the sensations that both roles can offer.
In queer tango, we promote spaces protected from discriminations and prejudice related to gender expression or sexual orientation. Queer tango is thus a privileged space for queer people (gays, lesbiens, trans, bi, queer, non-binary, gender fluid, and more).
The two movements of queer and open-role tango sometimes overlap: people of one scene are often part of the other.
None of these definitions are official or fixed. So overall, it’s always the best idea to simply dance the way you want, without worrying much about definitions.
The goal of our initiative is to gather the people that want to dance according to these values in Geneva and its surroundings in France and Swiss Romandy.
In our spaces, there will be NO notion of “man’s role” or “woman’s role”, but we’ll talk about “leader and follower”. Everyone can invite anyone. No-one needs to know both roles. But they can learn them.
Our goal is to organise practicas/classes/milongas according to these principles. There is only one fundamental rule: the respect for others, their gender and their sexual orientation.
We wish to establish a space where each encounter is valued by the degree of connection and embrace given to the other – regardless of their technical level. Thus, beginners, even in both roles, are more than welcome.